OAG 93-69

In your letter to this office dated September 7, 1993, you
request an opinion as to an interpretation of KRS 72.450 which
states as follows:

(1) A coroner who has possession of a dead body or a part
thereof shall make a bona fide attempt to notify the spouse,
if any, or next of kin of the decedent's death. In the event
the coroner is unable to locate the spouse, if any, or next
of kin, he may cause the body to be buried at the expense of
the fiscal court or urban-county government, whichever is
appropriate.

(2) In the event the body is buried at public expense, the
coroner shall take possession of all money or other property
found on or belonging to the decedent and shall deliver same
to the fiscal court or urban-county government, whichever is
appropriate. Any money or other property found on the body of
the decedent or belonging to him shall be delivered by the
coroner to the fiscal court or urban-county government,
whichever is appropriate, to help defray burial expenses. Any
excess funds shall escheat to such governmental agency one
year thereafter.

(3) In lieu of having an unclaimed body buried at public
expense, the coroner may deliver such body or part thereof to
a state medical school in accordance with the provisions of
KRS 311.300 to 311.350.

You state that Boone County, like all other governmental
entities, is under economic constraints and is looking for cost
effective methods of disposing of dead bodies. You ask whether
the language of the above quoted statute encompasses cremations
as a less expensive alternative to embalming and burial in a
casket.

We find that the term "burial" has been defined by
the courts consistent with Black's Law Dictionary as follows:

Burial is restricted to the act of interment.

People v. Rosehill Cemetery Co., 21 N.E.2d 766 (Ill.
1939).

Word 'burial' means an act of burying a deceased person,
sepulcher, interment, act of depositing a dead body in the
earth, in a tomb or vault . . . .

Brady v. Presnell, 169 S.E. 278, 280 (N.C. 1933).

The statute is therefore clear on its face. It is contemplated
that the body of the deceased is to be interred and there is no
mention of cremation.

Another statutory provision in Kentucky is as follows:

213.081 Permit to cremate or transport body

(1) No person shall cremate or cause to be transported for
the purpose of cremation the body of any person whose death
occurs in the Commonwealth, without first obtaining from the
coroner of the county in which the death occurred, a permit
stating the cause of death and authorizing the cremation or
transportation for cremation of the body. The permit shall be
filed immediately following cremation with the local
registrar of vital statistics.

(2) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the
cremation of fetal death remains in the absence of any
indication of a criminal act.

However, this provision is not found in the chapter dealing
with coroners but in the chapter dealing with vital statistics.
KRS 213.081 is the general provision dealing with obtaining a
permit authorizing cremation. However, the more specific
provision dealing with coroners is found in KRS Chapter 72. The
more specific statute must always prevail in determining
legislative intent. In this case, the more specific statute, KRS
72.450, makes no provision for cremation. We can only conclude
that in Kentucky at least, cremation is not an option for the
coroner pursuant to KRS 72.450(1) in the case of an unclaimed
body.